Barty Crouches
May. 23rd, 2009 06:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lokifanSo, I’ve been reading Elkins’ meta about the Crouch family. I am absolutely fascinated. It doesn’t hurt that Julius and Brutus, and another Brutus, are repeatedly referenced. I have a strong desire to go and write Crouch/Crouch to work out some of my thoughts about their relationship. But since I have deadlines, I can’t. So I started to think about why the younger Barty Crouch appeals to me so much more than his father.
Frail, brilliant blonds with overbearing parents tend to interest me anyway. :) But this particular character is a sadistic, fanatical Death Eater who tortured Draco, and I still like him a lot. Fanaticism I actually find interesting, particularly in this character. He’s massively loyal, if in a misguided way, and has no respect for those he considers to have turned traitor. Which makes it interesting that he said he was innocent at his trial. Terror? A long-term strategy of the kind his family excels at?
I think it’s easy to see where the fanaticism could come from, and how it could attach to what his father fought. Crouch senior seems to have been a tyrant in the home (before his son killed him. Sic semper tyrannis, bitch.) and generally dominant. Since Mrs Crouch managed to take Polyjuice every hour on the hour, while dying, in a place that sends people mad, we can conclude she was hardcore. A frail only child growing up there might well be primed to obey and subsume their own identity into a group – the family, then the Death Eaters. And since young Barty loved his mum and hated his father (insert sexual dysfunction of your choice here) I think his devotion to Voldemort makes perfect sense. A dominant male figure to protect this boy who’s grown up under his father’s thumb, but Barty could still feel rebellious. Bright-eyed, insane devotion to a cause just appeals to me a lot more than Crouch’s stern, self-righteous attitude: he wants to destroy the bad guys, not contain them. Fair enough, but considering civil liberties are my number one political cause, his methods are calculated to rub me up the wrong way.
I’ve been thinking about a lot of other things recently – sort of doggy-paddling, because of the remaining touch of writer’s block. (I think much better when I can write as I do it.) But thinking about motivations for an original, and this whole Crouch thing, made me realise that my own strongest instinct, overriden only by my curiosity, is the instinct to not obey. Not necessarily to disobey, although I do a lot of that. But just to not do as I’m told because it’s what I’m told. This is part of why blind faith is a pet peeve of mine: part of why if I were a Hogwarts student, and one of the few pupils special enough to enter the Headmaster’s office, I would smash it all up within minutes.
I mean, I recently decided to do something which my mother wanted me to. I knew she was going to tell me to do it, so I offered to before she could – specifically because I didn’t want her to think I was doing it because she said so. I do that kind of thing a lot. On Tuesday I had to do what my mum wanted even though I really didn’t want to. I still feel I’m bristling, like some wet and outraged cat, at the mere thought of it.
I tend to blithely disobey my parents a lot, and I have my entire childhood. And I don’t think it’s a result of their parenting: both my younger sisters obey them, and are eager to please in general. I, on the other hand, have never had a school report that wasn’t polarised between effusive and furious, based on whether or not I respected the subject teachers. I clearly remember working out a two-tier respect system when I was eleven. So I’d respect everyone in the sense that I wasn’t randomly rude. The respect due other humans because they’re humans, in other words. And then I’d decide whether the people in my life were competent enough for the vaguely deferent variety.
And I don’t think about it. It’s odd, trying to think about it consciously; this non-submission instinct is very strong, and so strong I’ve never thought about it. It’s particularly odd in that I have no desire to be a leader whatsoever. I don’t have a competitive bone in my body. But any hint of chains and I instantly bristle. (Yeah, yeah. The jokes are too easy.)
Crouch senior used the Imperius curse on his son. For years. UGH. No other word can express my instinctive repulsion. Just... UGH. I am physically hunching my shoulders with ‘eww’ness.
I’d sooner die than live under the yoke of Imperius for years. To quote Christopher Pike, “[I’d] rather be free than happy.” So, poll. Elaborate in comments should you wish. I’ll be especially interested to see if people answer the two questions differently.
[Poll #1404558]
Frail, brilliant blonds with overbearing parents tend to interest me anyway. :) But this particular character is a sadistic, fanatical Death Eater who tortured Draco, and I still like him a lot. Fanaticism I actually find interesting, particularly in this character. He’s massively loyal, if in a misguided way, and has no respect for those he considers to have turned traitor. Which makes it interesting that he said he was innocent at his trial. Terror? A long-term strategy of the kind his family excels at?
I think it’s easy to see where the fanaticism could come from, and how it could attach to what his father fought. Crouch senior seems to have been a tyrant in the home (before his son killed him. Sic semper tyrannis, bitch.) and generally dominant. Since Mrs Crouch managed to take Polyjuice every hour on the hour, while dying, in a place that sends people mad, we can conclude she was hardcore. A frail only child growing up there might well be primed to obey and subsume their own identity into a group – the family, then the Death Eaters. And since young Barty loved his mum and hated his father (insert sexual dysfunction of your choice here) I think his devotion to Voldemort makes perfect sense. A dominant male figure to protect this boy who’s grown up under his father’s thumb, but Barty could still feel rebellious. Bright-eyed, insane devotion to a cause just appeals to me a lot more than Crouch’s stern, self-righteous attitude: he wants to destroy the bad guys, not contain them. Fair enough, but considering civil liberties are my number one political cause, his methods are calculated to rub me up the wrong way.
I’ve been thinking about a lot of other things recently – sort of doggy-paddling, because of the remaining touch of writer’s block. (I think much better when I can write as I do it.) But thinking about motivations for an original, and this whole Crouch thing, made me realise that my own strongest instinct, overriden only by my curiosity, is the instinct to not obey. Not necessarily to disobey, although I do a lot of that. But just to not do as I’m told because it’s what I’m told. This is part of why blind faith is a pet peeve of mine: part of why if I were a Hogwarts student, and one of the few pupils special enough to enter the Headmaster’s office, I would smash it all up within minutes.
I mean, I recently decided to do something which my mother wanted me to. I knew she was going to tell me to do it, so I offered to before she could – specifically because I didn’t want her to think I was doing it because she said so. I do that kind of thing a lot. On Tuesday I had to do what my mum wanted even though I really didn’t want to. I still feel I’m bristling, like some wet and outraged cat, at the mere thought of it.
I tend to blithely disobey my parents a lot, and I have my entire childhood. And I don’t think it’s a result of their parenting: both my younger sisters obey them, and are eager to please in general. I, on the other hand, have never had a school report that wasn’t polarised between effusive and furious, based on whether or not I respected the subject teachers. I clearly remember working out a two-tier respect system when I was eleven. So I’d respect everyone in the sense that I wasn’t randomly rude. The respect due other humans because they’re humans, in other words. And then I’d decide whether the people in my life were competent enough for the vaguely deferent variety.
And I don’t think about it. It’s odd, trying to think about it consciously; this non-submission instinct is very strong, and so strong I’ve never thought about it. It’s particularly odd in that I have no desire to be a leader whatsoever. I don’t have a competitive bone in my body. But any hint of chains and I instantly bristle. (Yeah, yeah. The jokes are too easy.)
Crouch senior used the Imperius curse on his son. For years. UGH. No other word can express my instinctive repulsion. Just... UGH. I am physically hunching my shoulders with ‘eww’ness.
I’d sooner die than live under the yoke of Imperius for years. To quote Christopher Pike, “[I’d] rather be free than happy.” So, poll. Elaborate in comments should you wish. I’ll be especially interested to see if people answer the two questions differently.
[Poll #1404558]
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no subject
Date: 2009-05-24 12:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-24 08:04 pm (UTC)Yeah, I could see that. :D And I suppose Avada Kedavra could be used for euthanasia, while Cruciatus is purely sadistic.
It reminds me of this H/D fic - I can't remember much about it, unfortunately, or how much of this was actually in the fic and how much was my mind running with it - where Draco said that Unforgivables are associated with Slytherin. He adds that Slytherin is the water house, and water is traditionally associated with healing (and of course Potions plays into that). The idea was that the Unforgivables were all originally used by healers, and became corrupted.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-25 12:21 am (UTC)I like the corrupted healer powers angle... it's very Elfquest ;).
no subject
Date: 2009-05-25 12:26 am (UTC)Maybe, but I doubt it - we Muggles kill people in self defence because incapacitating someone isn't always an option, but if you can Avada someone you can Stupefy them.
Elfquest? *curious face*
no subject
Date: 2009-05-25 12:41 am (UTC)You mean you don't know Elfquest? OMG! It's the most beautiful comic book series *ever*, and their prime villain is a healer who has developed her powers to cause pain as well as heal.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-25 02:27 am (UTC)Ooooh. *grabby hands*
no subject
Date: 2009-05-24 03:21 am (UTC)(That was why I never understod the disdain for Tom Riddle Senior. And I never understood why Tom Riddle Junior's choices were his fault. He was a victim for over a year and forced to enjoy every minute of it. When he's finally set free the loony who enslaved him has ruined his life, chased off the fiancee he actualy loved, saddled him with an unborn child that was basically the product of multiple rapes, and now expects him to love her. Frankly, I'm surprised he ever stopped running. And - Er... but this has nothing to with Barty Crouch Jr. so I'll shut up on it.)
As for Barty Crouch Jr... I got why he would go to Voldemort. I even understood why he would kill his father. I never thought that he knew what was going to happen to the Longbottoms. I always thought that he must have just joined the Death Eaters (almost literally as soon as he had his license to apparate). He gave info on his brutal father to Voldemort and in return Voldemort and his inner circle were kind to him. He was probably devistated when his 'protective' father-figure was destroyed. In his own less-violent way, he was probably just as distressed as the LeStranges over Voldemort's loss so the LeStranges brought him along on their quest to find Voldemort.
Despite his mark he was probably still a sweet, mostly naive boy before the Longbottoms were killed. And I think that if his father had shown him mercy at the trial, he may have been redeemable. After his father sent him to Azkaban and later enslaved him, though, I think that any sweetness the boy had was gone. His suffering made him his father's son - intelligent, driven, unforgiving, and cruel with a bloodlust. He was like a younger mirror!verse dark-Barty Crouch.
I never understood how an entire system, expecially such a small close-knit system like the wizarding world, could fail so many people so completely and utterly.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-24 08:17 pm (UTC)Absolutely. And I agree with you about Tom Riddle Snr, completely. He finds out his new wife was a witch who forced him into all this, ran off his fiancee and raped him repeatedly - and could do it all again. I mean, jesus fuck.
He was probably devistated when his 'protective' father-figure was destroyed.
Oh, absolutely. The midsguided loyalty is actually endearing to me because it's so pathetic - he wants Voldemort to be his daddy.
His suffering made him his father's son - intelligent, driven, unforgiving, and cruel with a bloodlust. He was like a younger mirror!verse dark-Barty Crouch.
Absolutely! Well, the fact that they share a name - it's a plot device, but I do think it shows how they mirror each other. As Elkins noted, during the trial scene (and yes, I think Barty Junior was redeemable then too) Crouch Snr says that the four wanted Voldemort's return, so they could return to "the lives of violence you presumably led when he was strong". Crouch Snr, I think, subconsciously wanted Voldemort to return since Voldemort made Crouch's political career; then, Crouch Snr could return to the life of violence he'd led, fighting the Death Eaters.
I never understood how an entire system, expecially such a small close-knit system like the wizarding world, could fail so many people so completely and utterly.
Oh, yes. In so many ways. In a less extreme example, I've often thought that part of the reason for all the Draco-runs-to-the-Muggle-world fics is that Draco (like other characters) is not really meant for the warrior culture of the wizarding world, and might find his creative talents more valued in ours.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-25 12:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-25 12:28 am (UTC)Btw, please feel free to come back and tell me what you thought!